Full Disclosure with James O'Brien
Episodes
Angela Hartnett: One of the UK's top chefs shares her recipe for success
03 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Angela Hartnett is a Michelin starred chef, restaurateur and podcast host. After studying for a history degree, she began working in a local pub befor...
Caroline Lucas: Being Britain's first and only Green MP
26 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In 2010 Caroline Lucas made history when she was elected as the MP for Brighton Pavilion, becoming the first Green Party candidate to enter Parliament...
Bassem Youssef: Egypt's Jon Stewart on Palestine, the press and Piers Morgan
19 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In 2011 Bassem Youssef was a little-known heart surgeon in Cairo. A year later, he was hosting his own political satire TV show, Al-Bernameg, drawing ...
James Timpson: The secrets to running a successful business and making money
12 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
"The best ideas don't come from the boardroom, the best ideas come from the frontline." James Timpson is the chief executive of Timpson, a family-run ...
Bryony Gordon: My OCD made me think my family would die
05 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Bryony Gordon is a bestselling author, mental health campaigner and founder of Mental Health Mates. She has been a columnist for the Telegraph for ove...
Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby: Finding my faith amidst hangovers, beatings and abuse
29 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Growing up, Justin Welby thought his home life was normal. It wasn't until he was a teenager that he realised being brought up by an abusive, alcoholi...
Jayne Torvill & Christopher Dean: From Nottingham council estates to winning gold at the Olympics
22 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It's 40 years since Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean won gold at the Winter Olympics in Sarajevo. Around 24 million people turned on their TVs to wa...
Humza Yousaf on Islamophobia and toxicity in politics
15 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Scotland's First Minister Humza Yousaf became interested in politics when he was just 16, believing it was the best way to make meaningful change. He ...
Baroness Sayeeda Warsi: "I don’t enjoy politics. There’s a lot of bullsh*t.”
08 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Lawyer, businesswoman, campaigner and the first female Muslim UK cabinet minister. Baroness Warsi has broken glass ceilings throughout her career and ...
Gary Stevenson: Why I gave up making millions as a City trader to fight wealth inequality
01 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
At 21 years old, Gary Stevenson joined Citibank as its youngest trader. Three years later, he became the bank's most profitable trader by betting on t...
Bernie Sanders
23 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
U.S. Senator and former presidential candidate, Bernie Sanders is the longest-serving independent member of Congress in American history. He joins Jam...
Jason Watkins
16 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jason Watkins has become one of Britain’s most sought after actors. His breakout role came in the 2014 ITV drama, The Lost Honour of Christopher Jef...
Sir Ed Davey
09 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Liberal Democrat leader, Sir Ed Davey has been a carer for most of his life. First for his mum, who died of cancer when he was just 15. Then for his N...
Dame Sheila Hancock
02 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This interview truly stands out. Dame Sheila Hancock is one of the most respected actors and writers of our time. She became a household name in the 1...
James Blunt
26 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It's 18 years since James Blunt released his hit single, You’re Beautiful which reached No.1 around the world. It helped James's debut album, Back t...
Nick Wallis: Exposing the Post Office scandal
19 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Nick Wallis was presenting the breakfast show for BBC Radio Surrey in 2010 when he was contacted by a listener with a story he’s been investigating ...
Stephanie Beacham
12 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In a career spanning almost six decades, Stephanie Beacham is a household name on both sides of the Atlantic. She achieved global renown for her role ...
Full Disclosure is taking a short break for Christmas... We'll be back in January 2024!
29 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Full Disclosure is taking a short break over Christmas but don't worry, we'll be back in January 2024 with a line up of exceptional guests.If you can'...
Fatima Whitbread
22 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This episode contains discussion of sexual violence. Listener discretion is advised.Fatima Whitbread is a former javelin world champion, double Olympi...
Dominic Grieve
15 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Former Conservative MP Dominic Grieve never set out to be a rebel. In his words, he was a member of the establishment. He was president of the Oxford ...
Chris Packham
08 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Wildlife TV presenter and conservationist Chris Packham has always been fascinated by the natural world. As a child, he spent hours collecting slugs, ...
What To Listen To Next - The News Agents
03 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We're dropping into your feed to share another Global Player Original podcast with you. Emily Maitlis, Jon Sopel and Lewis Goodall – three of the UK...
Omid Scobie
01 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Royal biographer Omid Scobie was thrust into the spotlight when he began writing about Prince Harry and Meghan. His first book Finding Freedom, about ...
Emily Maitlis interviews James O'Brien on his book 'How They Broke Britain'
24 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week, the tables have turned and James is in the hot seat. He sits down with journalist and host of The News Agents podcast, Emily Maitlis to dis...
Miles Jupp
16 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
He's a comedian, writer and star of stage and screen. Miles Jupp started performing stand-up as a student at Edinburgh University. In his third year, ...
Chris McCausland
09 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Liverpudlian comedian Chris McCausland gradually started losing his eyesight due to a hereditary condition called retinitis pigmentosa. His sight got ...
From The Vault: Dame Prue Leith
02 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
James has brought back another incredible guest from the Full Disclosure vault this week. He's revisiting his 2019 interview with Dame Prue Leith, sta...
From The Vault: Steve Coogan
26 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
James has been looking back at some of his all-time favourite guests on Full Disclosure. He's dug deep into the vault and plucked out an episode that ...
Tim Peake
19 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In 2008, Tim Peake answered an advert from the European Space Agency looking for astronauts. Six years later he became the first British astronaut to ...
Mary Beard
12 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Arguably the world’s most famous classicist, Mary Beard has an incredible talent for making ancient history engaging for everyone. Her fascination w...
Susie Dent
05 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Lexicographer, etymologist and Queen of Countdown’s Dictionary Corner, Susie Dent has always been fascinated by words. As a child, she would read th...
Naomi Klein
28 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Over the past twenty-five years, Naomi Klein has charted and documented our politics and culture with a series of bestselling-books from No Logo to Th...
Gabby Logan
21 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Broadcasting legend, podcaster and former gymnast for Wales and Great Britain, Gabby Logan is a force to be reckoned with. She started her broadcastin...
Clive Myrie
14 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
He's one of the most recognisable faces on British television, covering some of the biggest stories of our time. BBC News presenter and Mastermind ho...
Sebastian Faulks
07 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Novelist Sebastian Faulks has the rare quality of being both literary and popular. He’s best known for his historical novels set in France, and in p...
Mark Gatiss
31 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Few of us realise the dreams we have as 8-year-olds, but actor, screenwriter and director Mark Gatiss, obsessed with horror, Dr Who and Sherlock Holme...
Dawn Butler
24 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Dawn Butler was the first black woman to speak at the despatch box in the House of Commons. But as a young person it had not once occurred to her to g...
Polly Toynbee
17 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When Polly Toynbee arrived at The Observer in the late 1960s, she quickly concluded that she'd make a poor news reporter. Hailing from ...
Dale Vince
10 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Environmentalist Dale Vince was appalled to learn, as a child, that many adults don't enjoy going to work. Rejecting convention, he decided to hit the...
Best of Full Disclosure
04 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
After a brief summer hiatus, James brings you some of the most extraordinary moments you might not have heard from Full Disclosure. We'll be back...
Shaparak Khorsandi
13 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Comedian and author Shaparak Khorsandi speaks to James about being diagnosed with ADHD in her forties, her Iranian background and ambitions to become ...
Alan Titchmarsh
06 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
He's one of the nation's favourite broadcasters, but when Alan Titchmarsh was a young lad, his parents worried about him. Disliking secondary sch...
Rob Rinder
29 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Broadcaster, criminal barrister, columnist and now novelist, Rob Rinder is too curious a person to stay in one place for long. He speaks to James abou...
Wendell Pierce
23 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Wendell Pierce was on the verge of quitting acting after he graduated from Juilliard - but decided to "give it a year". Four decades on, he's one of t...
Dexter Fletcher
15 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
After 50 years in TV, film and theatre, James O'Brien sits down with one of his heroes, actor turned big-time director, Dexter Fletcher to discuss the...
Joan Bakewell
08 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
She was made a peer in 2011, but Dame Joan Bakewell regards herself first and foremost as a journalist and writer. From a very young age, Jo...
Mark Steel
01 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A master at throwing interviewers off his own scent, comedian Mark Steel got so bored of being asked the same questions that he started making things ...
Alastair Campbell
25 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Self-confessed workaholic Alastair Campbell can't help but feel that he's not doing enough. He's written 18 books, is editor at large of The New Europ...
Evie Meg
18 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Evie Meg, AKA thistrippyhippie has over 16 million followers on TikTok, making her one of the most prominent online disability advocates. Conversely, ...
Introducing: Unprecedented
15 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Brexit, Covid, Partygate, lockdowns, leaks, the war in Ukraine, a cost-of-living crisis and the scandals that plagued our politics. Guto Harri wa...
Jack Whitehall
11 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
His first stand-up gig was at the tender age of 16. It was not critically well received. But Jack Whitehall quickly became a firm favourite on our scr...
Stephen Flynn
04 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
At 34 years old he's the SNP's youngest ever leader in Westminster, moving at breakneck speed from supermarket checkout boy to Rishi Sunak's poli...
Liam Thomas
27 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
For more than a decade, Liam Thomas worked as an undercover detective in the Metropolitan Police’s Covert Surveillance Unit, mixing with dangerous c...
Jason Arday
20 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On paper, a professorship at Cambridge is not an obvious outcome for a person who cannot read or write by the age of 18. It is also not what we might ...
Eddie Izzard
13 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Her career contains stand-up, marathon-running, acting and campaigning; all of which tend to reappear in no obvious or particular order. Now Eddie is ...
Hugh Laurie
05 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Brought up in a household where showing off was effectively banned, an acting career was perhaps the antithesis of what Hugh Laurie's parents expected...
Lucy Easthope
30 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Emergency Planner and Disaster Expert Lucy Easthope has advised on everything from plane crashes and tsunamis to pandemics and terror attacks. Lucy sp...
Mehdi Hasan
23 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
As with The Beatles, Adele and James Corden, Mehdi Hasan is one of the rare British talents to crack America. But he's profoundly depressed by the sta...
Fred Sirieix
16 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
He's the nation's most loved maitre d and the first face seen by singletons looking for love of Channel 4's First Dates. But behind the friendliness a...
Carol Vorderman
09 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
She's best known for starring in Countdown, one of Britain's longest-running television game shows. But Carol Vorderman has managed to fit twice as mu...
Phil Wang
02 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Comedian Phil Wang has decided he's got to start being silly in response to a world which he thinks is getting serious. Born in Stoke on Trent to an E...
Amanda Abbington
23 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Actress Amanda Abbington, star of Sherlock and Netflix thriller Safe, speaks to James about her misdirected early attempts at dancing, the moment she ...
Neil Kinnock
09 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
He is credited with reestablishing the Labour Party as a mainstream, centrist political force after a period of hard-left internal conflict. Sound fam...
Terry Christian
02 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Broadcaster Terry Christian grew up in a large Irish Catholic family in Manchester where not attending mass or university was out of the question. Aft...
Sir Tony Robinson
26 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Blackadder legend Tony Robinson talks to James about the state of British politics, the power of meditation and the return of Time Team.
Matthew Collins
19 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Content warning: this episode contains descriptions of racial violence, racial slurs and suicidal feelings. By the time Matthew Collins was 15 years o...
George Takei
12 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The internment of Japanese Americans across the U.S. during World War II is not an obvious subject on which to develop a musical, however it is exactl...
Tracy Brabin
05 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Back in the day when she was best known as Tricia Armstrong in Coronation Street, Tracy Brabin did not shy away from national politics, appearing in L...
Alan Johnson
22 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
From union General Secretary, to Home Secretary to award-winning writer. By his own admission, Alan Johnson has lived a charmed life. He speaks to Jam...
Lisa Nandy
15 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A quick glance at Lisa Nandy's family tree shows that politics runs through her veins, but when she first arrived in the House of Commons it wasn't an...
Maria Ressa
08 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Ressa's pursuit of the truth has landed her in trouble with the most powerful man in her motherland: President Duterte ...
Dr Gabor Maté
01 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Dr Gabor Maté is one of the world's most revered physicians, specialising in addiciton, trauma, ADHD, stress and childhood development. As a young pe...
Brian Cox
24 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
He’s most famous for his role in HBO’s Succession, playing Logan Roy, the ruthless, capitalist, pater familias at the top of media conglomerate, W...
Derren Brown
17 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Ever since he arrived on our screens in the early noughties, illusionist Derren Brown’s dramatic television stunts routinely generated controversy, ...
Martin Kemp
10 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
How does a shy little boy go on to perform to arenas brimming with thousands of screaming fans? Martin Kemp of Spandau Ballet fame speaks to James abo...
Introducing: Sweeney Talks
07 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Hey listener, we’ve got a new LBC podcast that we think you’d like called Sweeney Talks with old-school reporter, John Sweeney. John is trouble. H...
Adrian Chiles
03 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Adrian Chiles has graced our television screens for over two decades. On this episode of Full Disclosure he discusses the pressures of being in the pu...
Noel Fitzpatrick
27 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Noel Fitzpatrick is the face of Channel 4's hugely popular factual series, The Supervet. As well as a being a vet Noel has worked as an actor, appeari...
Sara Pascoe
20 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Since she was 14 years old Sara Pascoe knew she wanted to be famous. Her passion for performing was realised after being sent to drama classes as puni...
Amanda Owen aka The Yorkshire Shepherdess
13 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
At one of the highest and most remote locations in England sits Swaledale hill farm where Amanda Owen tends to her thousand sheep and nine children. D...
David Dimbleby
06 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Moments of high drama in Britain's recent history are punctuated by the voice of one man. For nearly half a century, broadcaster David Dimbleby has le...
Andy Burnham
29 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Dubbed 'King of the North' at the height of the pandemic, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham speaks to James about why he sees the country ...
Ian McEwan
22 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When he graduated with a master's degree from the University of East Anglia, Ian McEwan did his level best not to have a job. He is now recognised as ...
Emily Maitlis
15 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When Emily Maitlis started reporting from Hong Kong as a young journalist, by her own admission, she wasn't very good. Since then she has interviewed ...
John Cleese
25 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
John Cleese is one of Britain's most celebrated cultural icons. The actor, comedian, screenwriter and producer is best known for Monty Python and for ...
Michael Rosen
18 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Some of us manage to embody a youthful playfulness throughout our lives and the writer, broadcaster and academic, Michael Rosen is probably one of the...
Figen Murray
11 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
For 23 years Figen Murray worked as a counsellor helping people to get back on track so that they could lead happier, healthier lives. But on the 22nd...
Professor Brian Cox
04 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In what would turn out to be the first of many media interviews, Brian Cox hopped off the plane from Geneva and found himself on Jeremy Paxman’s sof...
Mick Lynch
29 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Mick Lynch has been hitting the headlines from the picket throughout the summer and makes batting off stereotypical lines of questioning from the righ...
Miriam Margolyes
07 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Miriam has worked with some of the best in the business and in some great films such as the 1990s film Romeo and Juliet. Many of you of course will k...
Chris Bryant
30 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
He’s best known for his forensic select committee cross examination of cabinet ministers but the Labour MP for Rhondda lived multiple lives before r...
Chris Patten
23 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In 1997 Chris Patten walked away as the final British governor of Hong Kong in a symbol of Britain's continual imperial decline. Having taken the blam...
Wes Streeting
16 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When he was elected as the MP for Ilford North in 2015, Wes Streeting achieved the biggest swing towards Labour from the Conservatives in the general ...
Simon Callow
09 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Known best for playing Gareth in Four Weddings and a Funeral, Simon Callow is a critically acclaimed actor, writer and director. Raised by a host of e...
Robert Lindsay
26 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
He’s known mostly to his younger fans for playing Ben Harper in the decade-long running sitcom, My Family and to an older audience as the eponymous ...
The Secret Barrister
19 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
An unusual episode of Full Disclosure: one in which the identity of our guest is not revealed. No name, no gender, no details about where they grew up...
Ed Byrne
12 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Irish comedian Ed Byrne was born in County Dublin and attended a school run by the Christian Brothers Catholic order. It was so badly managed that he ...
Andy Hamilton
04 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Hoards of men would troop past Andy Hamilton's window every Saturday on the street he grew up on in Fulham. Minutes away from Stamford Bridge, and des...
James Wong
28 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
For as long as he can remember, James Wong has been obsessed with botany. He shares his small central London flat with 500 houseplants and has incorpo...
Eddie Marsan
21 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Simple lies over complex truths have always troubled the actor, Eddie Marsan. Growing up in London’s East End, Marsan rejected the racists who blame...